The "What If" Game
by The Inner Genie
Summary: Chakotay and Kathryn play one of their favorite games.


1 "What If" Game  
  
By The Inner Genie  
  
3/31/02  
  
Disclaimer: This story was not written for profit, but for my own pleasure. I don't own these characters. I wish I did. They'd have a lot more fun.  
  
  
  
Dinner was over. The leftovers and dishes had been fed into the reclycler. The candles were burning low and the soft music had gotten very soft indeed.  
  
Captain Kathryn Janeway and Chakotay, her First Officer, were sitting in her quarters, one on each end of the couch.  
  
They were turned to face each other. One knee bent up as they relaxed against the pillow behind their backs. They each had one arm lying along the back of the couch. Finger almost touching.  
  
What if…? Kathryn began. They smiled at each other. This was the start of a familiar game.  
  
"Yes, Kathryn? What if?" Chakotay raised one eyebrow and cocked his head her way.  
  
Kathryn looked down as if thinking hard. Then she raised her head and said. "What if John Cavit wasn't one of the casualties when the caretaker pulled us into the Delta Quadrant?"  
  
Chakotay was thoughtful for a moment.  
  
"You wouldn't have appointed me your new First Officer. Your pilot, maybe?"  
  
Now, it was Kathryn's turn to raise an eyebrow.  
  
"A Maquis piloting Voyager? A man I was told was a dangerous criminal in control of my ship? Think again, Commander."  
  
Chakotay laughed.  
  
"Are you describing me or Tom Paris, Kathryn?"  
  
"That didn't come out right," she laughed. "But I doubt Cavit would have agreed to any of the Maquis holding leadership positions. He was as Starfleet as they come. No," she paused in thought, then said sadly, "I'm afraid you and all of your crew would have been locked in the brig."  
  
Chakotay shook his head.  
  
"We wouldn't have had a chance to work together…to get to know each other. To fight, to apologize, to make up…to become best friends."  
  
"No," Kathryn agreed, her eyes shiny. "I guess not. I regret he had to die, but I don't regret you being my First Officer. I don't know if we would have made it this far if I hadn't had you by my side."  
  
Chakotay, stretching his arm a little further along the back of the couch, rubbed his index finger against hers.  
  
"Who knows," he pondered, "you might have been saying that to him right about now."  
  
"I only knew him for a few hours, but, somehow I don't think that two dyed- in-the-wool, follow the rule book Starfleeters would have survived a week in the Delta Quadrant, let alone five years!" Kathryn scoffed.  
  
"So, what are you saying, Kathryn? That my Maquis training has come in handy? That Starfleet doesn't train its officers to handle every situation? That sometimes you just have to punch it through?"  
  
"Yes, yes, and yes." Kathryn acknowledged.  
  
Chakotay held up his hand.  
  
"Okay, it's my turn now."  
  
He leaned slightly forward. "What if, say tomorrow, you and I came down with an incurable virus, could only stay alive if we stayed on an uninhabited planet, forced to leave the ship in Tuvok's capable hands, destined to live the rest of our lives all alone, just the two of us?"  
  
Kathryn looked at him, her eyes glinting with humor. She waited for him to wind down.  
  
When he finally sat back, she squinted her eyes in thought.  
  
"Let's see," she mused. Holding up one finger at a time, she counted off, "Order number one…no trying to find a cure for that virus. Order number two…no stupid bedroom dividers. Order number three…bathtub big enough for two. Order number four…kill the monkey."  
  
Chakotay's chuckle became a roar of laughter. Kathryn joined him.  
  
"My turn, my turn!" Kathryn said still giggling. Then her voice got serious.  
  
"Do you remember, just before we ran into the Borg for the first time, when I told you I couldn't imagine a day without you?"  
  
Chakotay nodded. His face serious, too.  
  
Kathryn looked down, her cheeks slightly flushed. She looked back up at him and licked her lips.  
  
"What if…?" she began. "What if Tuvok hadn't called us to engineering at just that moment?"  
  
Chakotay's eyes never left hers. He took hold of her hand that was resting on the back of the couch and pulled her closer towards him. When she was sitting very close to him, he said in a soft voice.  
  
"First, I would have cupped your beautiful face like this." He illustrated his words with actions. "Then," he whispered. "I would have run my thumb across your lips, like this."  
  
Kathryn stared at him as if mesmerized. A slight shiver went through her body. Her own hands coming up to rest on his shoulders.  
  
"Then," he said, his voice low and husky. "I would have brushed my lips against yours in an oh so soft kiss."  
  
This he did, too. Kathryn gripped his shoulders tighter. Chakotay pulled back slowly.  
  
"Then what?" Kathryn croaked.  
  
"Then, I would have lowered my hands, down your back and around your waist and pulled you close against me."  
  
Again, he suited actions to his words. Kathryn was forced to twine her arms around his neck until their faces were mere inches apart.  
  
"Yes?" She whispered.  
  
"Then I would have kissed you like this."  
  
Their lips crushed together in their first real kiss.  
  
"CAPTAIN JANEWAY AND COMMANDER CHAKOTAY, YOUR PRESENCE IS NEEDED, IMMEDIATELY, ON THE BRIDGE." Commander Tuvok's voice sounded loudly in the quiet room.  
  
The command team didn't leap apart. Chakotay's lips slowly and reluctantly left Kathryn's. They both sighed and rested their foreheads together. Chakotay reached up and tapped his combadge.  
  
"On our way, Tuvok."  
  
They lifted up their heads as Kathryn put her hand against his cheek. She sighed. "What if Tuvok was busted to ensign and assigned to deck 15?"  
  
They stood up, brushed down their uniforms and headed for the door.  
  
"What if Tuvok was busted down to ensign, assigned to deck 15 where he was accidentally blown out an airlock?" Chakotay queried.  
  
"Yeah, what if? Kathryn asked wistfully as the door closed behind them.  
  
The End 


End file.
